How Hard Is It to Quit Coal? For Germany, 18 Years and $44 Billion

Germany announced on Thursday that it would spend $44.5 billion to quit coal — but not for another 18 years, by 2038.

An open-pit coal mine and power plant in Schophoven, Germany, this week.

The move shows how expensive it is to stop burning the world’s dirtiest fossil fuel, despite a broad consensus that keeping coal in the ground is vital to averting a climate crisis, and how politically complicated it is.

Coal, when burned, produces huge amounts of the greenhouse gas emissions that are responsible for global warming.

Germany doesn’t have shale gas, as the United States does, which has led to the rapid decline of coal use in America, despite President Trump’s support for coal. Germany also faces intense opposition to nuclear power. After the Fukushima disaster in 2011, that opposition prompted the government to start shutting down the country’s nuclear plants, a transition that should be complete by 2022.

Read the story from The New York Times by Somini Sengupta and Melissa Eddy - “How Hard Is It to Quit Coal? For Germany, 18 Years and $44 Billion.”

Scotland planted over 22 million trees last year, smashing goals

The Scottish forestry agency announced on Thursday that the country surpassed its tree planting goals last year, making what it called a “critical contribution to the global climate emergency.”

According to Scottish Forestry, 11,200 hectares, or some 43 square miles, of planting was carried out in Scotland in 2018 — a jump from the government’s yearly planting target of 10,000 hectares, which would be approximately 39 square miles. The Scotsman reported that the planting led to more than 22 million new trees.

Fergus Ewing, the country’s rural economy secretary, called the news “fantastic” in a statement, saying the feat is “testament to the Scottish Government making forestry a priority and investing and helping growing the industry.”

“The whole tree planting effort has truly been a national endeavor with all forestry interests, both large and small, pulling together,” Ewing said.

Read the story from The Hill by Aris Folley - “Scotland planted over 22 million trees last year, smashing goals.”

Human society under urgent threat from loss of Earth's natural life

Human society is in jeopardy from the accelerating decline of the Earth’s natural life-support systems, the world’s leading scientists have warned, as they announced the results of the most thorough planetary health check ever undertaken.

Forest clearance in Indonesia. Scientists have warned
of the impact of deforestation on animals.

From coral reefs flickering out beneath the oceans to rainforests desiccating into savannahs, nature is being destroyed at a rate tens to hundreds of times higher than the average over the past 10m years, according to the UN global assessment report.

The biomass of wild mammals has fallen by 82%, natural ecosystems have lost about half their area and a million species are at risk of extinction – all largely as a result of human actions, said the study, compiled over three years by more than 450 scientists and diplomats.

Read the story from The Guardian by global environment editor, Jonathan Watts - “Human society under urgent threat from loss of Earth's natural life.”

Toyota to electrify all models by 2025

Toyota has announced that all of its cars will be available with either an electric, hybrid or a fuel cell drivetrain within seven years as part of a major stepping stone to achieve its Environmental Challenge 2050 announcement made two years ago.

The challenge set by the Japanese maker to itself will see its own new car global emissions reduced by 90 per cent compared to 2010 levels and requires a significant number of cars sold to be electrified.

Read the Drive story - “Toyota to electrify all models by 2025.”

The truth as opposed to what Melissa Price says.

Today, the misnamed Minister for the Environment, Melissa Price, announced that, on the advice of the CSIRO and Geoscience Australia, she was approving the Adani mine.

Environment Minister, Melissa Price.

That is completely untrue.

Read the story from AIM by Kaye Lee - “The truth as opposed to what Melissa Price says.”

The government’s $2bn climate fund: a rebadged rehash of old mistakes

Australia’s new flagship Climate Solutions Fund, announced this week by Prime Minister Scott Morrison, will spend more than A$2 billion on cutting greenhouse emissions by 2030.

Scott Morrison has given a new name to an old policy.

While action on climate change is welcomed, this announcement seems to be a faithful reprise of the previous Emissions Reduction Fund, which was beset with problems.

The government has put a new name on an existing scheme, while steadfastly refusing to learn from mistakes made along the way. In cruder terms, it’s slapped a gleaming coat of lipstick onto a pig of a policy.

Add to that the A$1.38 billion pledged today for building the Snowy 2.0 scheme – another plan hatched by one of the government’s former incarnations – and there’s not a lot of imagination on display as Morrison’s government scrambles for some much-needed climate credibility ahead of this year’s election.

Read the piece from The Conversation by a Senior Lecturer in Economics from the The University of Queensland, Ian A. MacKenzie - “The government’s $2bn climate fund: a rebadged rehash of old mistakes.”

Coal Company Responds to Investors, Vows to Cut Production to Battle Climate Change

One of the world’s largest mining and natural resource companies announced it will limit coal production to reduce carbon emissions in response to investors who pushed the company to commit to a transition to a low-carbon economy. 

One coal mining giant has bowed to investor pressure
 and agreed to stop expanding production in Australia
and other countries.

Glencore, a multinational mining company based in Switzerland, announced its plans after discussions with institutional investors participating in Climate Action 100+, a group with more than $32 trillion in assets under management. Investors praised Glencore’s commitment to the low-carbon transition and hailed it as a first for the mining industry. 

“We are encouraged to see that Glencore has taken the positive steps to align its business strategy with the goals laid out by the Paris Agreement to limit global temperature rise and to achieve net zero emissions,” said Mindy Lubber, vice chair of the global Climate Action 100+ steering committee and chief executive of Ceres, a nonprofit dedicated to sustainable investing. “As the first mining company to make such a commitment, we are hopeful that others in the sector and in other high-emitting sectors across the economy will follow suit.”

Glencore said it plans to “limit its coal production capacity broadly to current levels” while prioritizing commodities like copper, nickel, cobalt, vanadium and zinc that it says are “essential to the energy and mobility transition.” Last year, Glencore produced more than 129 million tons of coal. It operates 26 mines across Australia, Colombia and South Africa. 

Read the Climate Liability News story by Dana Drugmand - “Coal Company Responds to Investors, Vows to Cut Production to Battle Climate Change.”

UK Government announces new waste strategy for a circular economy

The UK Government has announced a new strategy to combat the UK’s growing waste problem.

The UK Government has announced a new strategy
 to combat the UK’s growing waste problem

The new strategy will result in businesses and manufacturers having to pay the full cost of recycling or disposing of their packaging waste. This will transform the waste system by putting more ownership on the companies that produce the damaging waste.

The importance of reducing food waste is also highlighted in the new strategy. In the UK alone, an estimated 10 million tonnes of food and drink is wasted, this results in both costs to the economy and the environment. A fifth of UK greenhouse gas emissions are associated with food and drink.

To combat this, the Government will set up a pilot scheme to reduce food waste, supported by a £15 million fund. This will involve redistributing food to people in need, including homeless shelters and food banks.

Read the ClimateAction story by Rachel Cooper - “UK Government announces new waste strategy for a circular economy.”

How One Climate Scientist Combats Threats and Misinformation From Chemtrail Conspiracists

Last spring, Harvard climate scientist David Keith announced that he and a colleague intended to proceed with small-scale geoengineering experiments in the real world (see “Harvard scientists moving ahead on plans for atmospheric geoengineering experiments”).

Harvard climate scientist David Keith.

The basic idea behind the technology they’re studying, known as solar geoengineering, is that spraying certain particles into the stratosphere could reflect enough heat back into space to offset some level of global warming. But the move from lab research to atmospheric experiments has sparked controversy.

Among other concerns, critics argue it’s far too dangerous to consider tinkering with the global climate system. But the field, and Keith’s research in particular, has also gotten ensnared in conspiracy theories about “chemtrails.” Proponents assert that the condensation trails created by aircraft are actually evidence that the military, or someone, is already spraying chemicals into the sky for wide-scale weather modification, mind control, or other nefarious purposes.

Read the Medium MIT Technology Review story by James Temple - “How One Climate Scientist Combats Threats and Misinformation From Chemtrail Conspiracists.”

Mayor of London unveils 1.5C Climate Action Plan

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has announced a new 1.5C Compatible Plan to combat the urgency of climate change.

London has a new 1.5C Compatible Plan
 to combat the urgency of climate change.

To make London a zero carbon city by 2050, spatial models of London’s building and energy systems were used to access the impact of specific policies, as well as the cost implications.  

The key messages from the plan includes urgently needing to increase the number of buildings retrofitted with energy efficiency measures.

The plan also stated that London’s path towards a low carbon future relies on continued grid decarbonisation and more ambitious national government action. If government further decarbonised energy systems and buildings UK wide, carbon could be reduced by an extra 30 per cent.

Read the Climate Action story by Rachel Cooper - “Mayor of London unveils 1.5C Climate Action Plan.”

World Bank Group Announces $200 billion over Five Years for Climate Action

Washington DC - 3 December, 2018 --The World Bank Group today announced a major new set of climate targets for 2021-2025, doubling its current 5-year investments to around $200 billion in support for countries to take ambitious climate action. The new plan significantly boosts support for adaptation and resilience, recognizing mounting climate change impacts on lives and livelihoods, especially in the world’s poorest countries. The plan also represents significantly ramped up ambition from the World Bank Group, sending an important signal to the wider global community to do the same. 

“Climate change is an existential threat to the world’s poorest and most vulnerable. These new targets demonstrate how seriously we are taking this issue, investing and mobilizing $200 billion over five years to combat climate change,” World Bank Group President, Jim Yong Kim said. “We are pushing ourselves to do more and to go faster on climate and we call on the global community to do the same. This is about putting countries and communities in charge of building a safer, more climate-resilient future.”

Read the release from The World Bank - “World Bank Group Announces $200 billion over Five Years for Climate Action.”

Britvic commits to 100% renewable electricity

Britvic has announced their commitment to 100% renewable electricity across all of their British manufacturing site from October 2018.

The soft drinks company, responsible for brands including Robinsons, Tango and J20, has partnered with E.ON on a new four year deal to provide power needs for British manufacturing sites. This includes 100 per cent wind generated electricity which will be sourced from the UK.

Iain Walker, Director of Business Energy Sales at E.ON, said: “We are proud our bespoke solutions are contributing to the ongoing energy security of Britvic’s site and in reducing the environmental impact - by providing our expertise and services when it comes to energy solutions we can allow the business to get on with what they do best – providing quality drinks for consumers.”

This initiative will ensure 17,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year are saved. This forms part of Britvic’s ‘Healthier Everyday’ programme which is designed to focus on the issues that matter most to its stakeholders to deliver sustainable solutions.

Read the ClimateAction story by Rachel Cooper - “Britvic commits to 100% renewable electricity.”

University of Melbourne to lead renewable hydrogen research for transport and power generation

University of Melbourne, together with University of New South Wales (UNSW), today announced an $8.6 million research project investigating the performance and value of efficient, heavy duty, reciprocating engines running on renewable hydrogen. The research will be partly funded by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA).

The three-and-a-half year project will involve close collaboration with leading industry partners Energy Power Systems Australia, Meridian Energy Australia, Continental and MAN.

Professor Michael Brear is the Director of the Melbourne Energy Institute at the University of Melbourne and said the project will focus on the use of renewable hydrogen to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions from power generation and transportation.

Read the press release - “University of Melbourne to lead renewable hydrogen research for transport and power generation.”

Australia to set national targets to reduce waste

Australia would divert 80 per cent of its waste from landfill by 2030 under an ambitious national target to be announced in the wake of the China crackdown on recycled waste imports.

China's ban on the importation of lower-grade waste has hit Australia hard.

A "working draft" of the 2018 National Waste Policy, obtained by Fairfax Media, also sets out a target to reduce the total waste generated by every Australian by 10 per cent by 2030.

Read the story by Jewell Topsfield from The Age - “Australia to set national targets to reduce waste.”

BP moves into electric vehicles market with Chargemaster acquisition

BP has announced its purchase of the UK’s largest electric vehicle charging company.

BP has bought Chargemaster.

The oil giant has entering into the agreement with Chargemaster, which operates over 6,500 charging points across the UK. The company will now be rebranded to BP Chargemaster and become a wholly owned BP brand.

The news is expected to scale-up the availability of electric charging points with BP planning to invest in ultra-fast charging infrastructure across the existing network and its own 1,200 service stations. This will include the 150 kilowatt chargers which can enable 100 miles of range in only 10 minutes of charging.

Read the Climate Action story - “BP moves into electric vehicles market with Chargemaster acquisition.”

Electric vehicles alone could cause peak oil demand within decade

When Tesla announced that it had built 7,000 cars in a week, I got excited. Even though electric vehicles (EVs) make up only a small percentage of new car sales in most countries, those sales are growing rapidly.

In an aggressive scenario, electrified transportation
 could displace 8 million barrels of oil per day.

But how long before they really start to take a bite out of oil demand?

Norway offers some clues, where years of generous—some would say unsustainable—incentives saw EVs and plug-in hybrid sales grow to 55% of the new car market in March. And the cumulative impact of those sales may have FINALLY translated into a drop in overall demand, with gasoline in particular seeing a 2.9% drop in sales.

Read the story by Sami Grover from Treehugger - “Electric vehicles alone could cause peak oil demand within decade.”

‘Hugely exciting': Drax to test carbon capture technology at North Yorkshire biomass plant

Drax and C-Capture say North Yorkshire pilot could be the 'first of several' in the UK aimed at delivering negative emissions

(L-R) Jason Shipstone, head of R&D at Drax Group; Caspar
Schoolderman, director of engineering at C-Capture;
Andy Koss, CEO Drax Power; Prof. Christopher Rayner,
 technical director at C-Capture; Carl Clayton, research
 and innovation engineer at Drax Group 

Drax is set to pilot Europe's first biomass carbon capture and storage (CCS) project, having today announced a partnership with CCS specialists from the University of Leeds to pilot "new technology" at its North Yorkshire power plant.

In a major boost for both CO2 capture development and hopes that a negative emissions industry could one day play a key role in a net zero emission economy, the energy firm said it was partnering with C-Capture - a spin out from the University of Leeds - to invest £400,000 in "what could be the first of several pilot projects" at Drax to deliver "rapid, low cost demonstration of BECCS" (bioenergy CCS).

Read the BusinessGreen story - “‘Hugely exciting': Drax to test carbon capture technology at North Yorkshire biomass plant.”

Costa Rica's New President Leads The Way With Fossil Fuel Ban

Costa Rica's newly elected President Carlos Alvarado has announced a nationwide ban on fossil fuels, part of his ambitious plans to create a decarbonized society.

"We have the titanic and beautiful task of abolishing
 the use of fossil fuels," said newly elected
 President Carlos Alvarado.

"Decarbonization is the great task of our generation and Costa Rica must be one of the first countries in the world to accomplish it, if not the first," said Alvarado, a former journalist and political scientist.

"We have the titanic and beautiful task of abolishing the use of fossil fuels in our economy to make way for the use of clean and renewable energies," he said in his inauguration speech Wednesday from the Plaza de la Democracy.

A crowd of some 2,000 people listened as their leader reiterated his campaign promises to reduce the fiscal deficit by 50 percent, increase white-collar crime-fighting initiatives, and efficiently distribute public finances to accomplish the country's goals.

Read the telesur story - “Costa Rica's New President Leads The Way With Fossil Fuel Ban.”

Costa Rica to ban fossil fuels and become world's first decarbonised society

Costa Rica’s new president has announced a plan to ban fossil fuels and become the first fully decarbonised country in the world.

Solar panels, including this one in Guanacaste, Costa Rica,
produced a small portion of this 98.1 per cent renewable energy. 

Carlos Alvarado, a 38-year-old former journalist, made the announcement to a crowd of thousands during his inauguration on Wednesday. 

"Decarbonisation is the great task of our generation and Costa Rica must be one of the first countries in the world to accomplish it, if not the first," Mr Alvarado said.

Read the story by Tom Embury-Dennis from the Independent - “Costa Rica to ban fossil fuels and become world's first decarbonised society.”

Carbon capture offers a false hope that we can sustain our use of coal

Last week, the Andrews government announced it was launching a "world-first" project to produce hydrogen in the Latrobe Valley.

Australia's PM, Malcolm Turnbull.

The project is being developed by a consortium of Japanese energy and infrastructure companies led by Kawasaki Heavy Industries, with the support of the Victorian, Commonwealth and Japanese governments. It aims to convert brown coal into hydrogen, which will then be transported to Japan for use in fuel cell electric vehicles and power generation.

On face value this attempt to turn our remaining coal resource into new export opportunities might seem like a good idea. But once you drill into the issue it becomes complex very quickly.

Firstly, there is the awkward fact that this project won’t be able to be commercialised unless carbon capture and storage (CCS) becomes viable at a commercial scale. Despite absorbing more than $1.3 billion of taxpayer funds since 2007, no one can say with certainty when, or if, this technology might be ready. So we’re potentially funding dead-end research. Despite the fact that industry reps keep promising it's "almost ready", after spending $1.3 billion of our money on this technology, with very little to show, when do we say enough is enough?

Read Cam Walker’s comment from today’s Age - “Carbon capture offers a false hope that we can sustain our use of coal.”